Undocumented Children Along the Border
UNDOCUMENTED CHILDREN ALONG THE BORDER BY MTSAQUINO Over the last few months, another issue which has been called by President Obama as “humanitarian crisis” has become a bigger priority for the nation, and that is, the influx of Unaccompanied Children, or UACs. According to the article “White House will ask Congress for New Powers to Tackle Immigration Surge,” “The US border patrol was used to detaining around 7,000 child migrants on the south-west border each year. Since October, at least 52,100 have been caught crossing the border; that number is expected to surpass 60,000 before the end of September. Most have come through the Rio Grande area, on the southernmost tip of Texas, which has seen a 178% increase on last year’s tally of children migrants.” Some are even as young as four or five. These children who mostly come from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras apparently cross into the country for the following reasons: 1) Recent U.S. policies toward unaccompanied children; 2) faltering economies and rising crime and gang activity in Central American countries; 3) the desire for family reunification; 4) changing operations of smuggling networks. By law, after being apprehended by the Border Patrol, they must be turned over within 72 hours to the 'Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement. '''Health officials must try to find relatives or other adults in the United States who can care for them while their immigration cases move through the courts, a search that can take several weeks or more. With this latest surge in immigration, the government has opened new shelters and processing facilities all over the nation. I chose to do this topic because of its present relevance. ''“What are we going to do with these unaccompanied children?” ''This has revived the debate over an immigration policy overhaul, one of the most partisan issues in the already overheated political climate of an election year. We all need to know what the President is planning to do about this crisis!! *The border patrols are overwhelmed, the facilities are ill-equipped to handle this mass surge. *Children’s lives are endangered *Our security is likewise threatened. ---Republicans say: *Deport them immediately if they have no legal basis to stay. ---Democrats say: *Immigrant-rights advocates call this proposed change “unconscionable.” *They should be given a chance to make the case for asylum. *But even they (Rep. Henry Cuellar)claim that “they warned the administration a year ago” about this, “and they didn’t do anything.” In the meantime, President Obama….. u Requested $3.7 billion in emergency spending to increase border enforcement, provide care for the children, send aid to their home countries, and seek new authority to deport the children more quickly. How does this change our perception of borders? u It makes us realize that the borders are not secure. (Just as Texas Governor Rick Perry insists, they need to be secured first before we can solve the situation). u It also makes us realize that our immigration policy is flawed. In the meantime, you judge….. u What can we, as residents of a bordertown, do about it? u Being a humanitarian nation that we are, this crisis serves as a test to our moral judgement… WORKS CITED: “Border Patrol Agents Worry About Contagious Diseases.” ''Krgv.com. '' KRGV, 1 July 2014. Web. 3 July 2014. = Hirschfeld, Julie and Preston, Julia. “Amid Influx of Migrants, Obama Is to Skip Border Visit on = = Texas Trip.” ''Nytimes.com. New York Times, 3 July 2014. Web. 6 July 2014. = = Lewis, Paul. “White House will Ask Congress for New Powers to Tackle Immigration Surge.” = ='' Theguardian.com. The Guardian, 29 June 2014. Web. 3 July 2014. = = = Munro, Neil. “Border Meltdown: Obama Delivering 290,000 Illegals To U.S. Homes.” ''Dailycaller.com. ''The Daily Caller, 5 July 2014. Web. 6 July 2014. Preston, Julia. “U.S. Setting Up Emergency Shelter in Texas as Youths Cross Border Alone.”''Nytimes.com. New York Times, 16 May, 2014. Web. 3 July 2014. Section heading Write the first section of your page here. Section heading Write the second section of your page here.